Kemp lands on DL for third time this season

TORONTO -- The Dodgers Wednesday placed Matt Kemp on the 15-day disabled list for the third time this season and activated pitcher Ted Lilly from the DL for the third time.

Kemp sprained his left ankle on an awkward slide into home on Sunday against the Nationals. The swelling and discomfort showed little improvement over the past three days, leaving the club uncertain how long Kemp will be sidelined.

"You know what? After listening to [medical director Stan Conte], he wasn't 100 percent sure," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "We're hopeful [it won't be more than 15 days], but I shouldn't talk about DL. I'm not any good at it."

On Sunday, only hours after Kemp was activated after a DL stint because of shoulder pain, Mattingly guessed that the ankle injury wasn't severe enough to put Kemp back on the disabled list. Kemp was disabled earlier in the year with a hamstring strain, and has missed 38 of the club's 99 games.

"I think Matt knows that once it didn't go anywhere, we had to do this," Mattingly said. "We'll get home tomorrow and he'll see the doc."

Kemp blamed himself for the injury, which occurred when he jogged home from third on Carl Crawford's grounder with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning, as he was not expecting a play at the plate.